Sometimes dreams do come true. I’ve longed for a greenhouse of my own for a very long time. With the help of one very Mysterious and Marvelous Marine, the reality will begin sometime tomorrow, when one greenhouse arrives on my doorstep. It’s hard to envision the dimensions. In my mind, it will go on for days with sections for every kind of plant I want to grow. In reality, space will be tight. Especially when the benches are installed.
When you live in a severe climate, the garden growing season isn’t always long enough. Thinking back to days in California, how I took those warm February days for granted. With the help of hot caps over the tiniest tomato plants, the veggies would take off. The first frosts of the year might not come until December and crops grew all year.
But, I’m in the unpredictable desert now. As I write, the outside temperature is 37 F and rain is pouring down. Shoot, a little dip in the temps and we’ll have more snow. This doesn’t make for the garden that I remember as a girl. For the next 10 days, the weather here will be on the cool side. Then, with the flip of a switch, it will be over 100.
I’m not sure how the heat in the summer will affect the plants inside. It may be too hot for anything to grow for awhile. It’ll be a learning experience throughout this first year.
The greenhouse will need its very own name. You’re all welcome to send me emails with your suggestions. My MMM will be running the construction crew of 2, (His brother and me), while supervising the job. First, the concrete foundation will need to be poured. After curing for a week, the greenhouse will be bolted down. With the Zephyr winds around here, it wouldn’t be good to find my greenhouse two houses away.
The little structure will need water and power. The power may include solar lighting. I need to investigate what will work best out there. The sickly little house plants will go to spend a few weeks in paradise where they will be pampered with humidity and Miracle Grow. Every inch of the greenhouse will be occupied. When I need a touch of the islands or a little humidity in my lungs, I’ll only need to walk a few feet through the desert. This little house in the back will be a game changer.
As for the gardens here at Winterpast, the color of the season is green. There are plants appearing that I didn’t even know I had. The Iris’s and Peony’s are growing by the day. The bulbs I planted in the fall are struggling to grow with the cool weather. A few have bloomed, but the others are taking their sweet time.
Mr. Lincoln, Peace, and Tahitian Sunset roses are finally starting to perk up. Arriving with totally bare roots from a very nice Rose company, they have struggled to leaf out. This cool weather is just what is needed to help them get established. Spring here in the desert is certainly unpredictable.
Today will be a great day to stay indoors and tackle the studio closet. I’ve been finding such treasures from the past. VST’s scripts from our days as thespians at the Golden Chain Theater in Oakhurst California. Old family pictures provide a window into my own days with family back at the ranch. Rather like a magical portal, the tiniest details of what life was like as a young mom, wife, and farming teacher come back in memories. Those sweet days were the best.
Whatever you do today, enjoy springtime. It’s a time for renewing faith in the beautiful life we enjoy here on earth. Turn off the TV and open the windows. Listen to the bird’s songs on the breeze. In the blink of an eye, it’ll be summer!
More tomorrow.